A new life

Three

One week later. October 16 1996

Billy

"I can't open it." I kept playing with the envelope, trying to get the nerve to open it and read the results. We had arrived at the hospital a while ago and had asked Pam and Shauna to wait for us in Shauna's car. 

"You want me to do it?"Scott asked.

"No...maybe I should just break it and forget about all this." I sighed "You and Shauna were right after all, having this test done was a mistake."

"Look, I will keep it just in case you change your mind, okay?"

"No, please break it. I've been thinking about this all these days, if I open the envelope and it says Baldoni is my father, what will I get? I will go nuts. C'mon, the girls are waiting for us." I got up and walked to the elevator. I didn't even wait to see how Scott broke the paper with the results.

Pam and Shauna we're waiting for us in the main entrance and walked to us when they saw us coming. Shauna asked me with a look, there was no need of words.

"I didn't open it, I just don't want to know the results. Can we go somewhere?" I wanted to go out of there and forget about the damn results.

"I'm glad you did." Shauna replied hugging me "I invite you to lunch." She turned to Pam and Scott "You wanna come?"

"Thanks, but I think you'll prefer go on your own." He smiled " Just, if you could drop us anywhere? " 

"Sure, wherever you want." She seemed relieved I hadn't opened the envelope, but didn't even mention it. She was probably right, the best thing we all could do was forget about it. As if it didn't exist. 

"Hey, can you drop us at home?" Scott asked after a while "We're gonna have a pizza and then we'll go riding along the lake, in case you wanna join us."

"Your wishes are my commands." Shauna smiled "And I like the idea of going for a ride, what do you say Billy?"

"Okay, but I want to talk to my father first. I think I owe it to him." 

"I think you're right, honey." Shauna ran her fingers through my hair and smiled at me "We'll be waiting by the lake." 

Shauna stopped the car for a moment so that we could take the bikes.  My father was in the front porch reading some files but put them aside. He smiled nervously to me.

"Hey, I was waiting for you. How did it go?"  

"I didn't read the results, I just couldn't." I sat by him on the bench. Scott went to the garage to pick the bikes but my father stopped him.

"Somehow I expected you would." My father smiled weakly.  "And I'm really glad you didn't. "

"I asked Scott to break the envelope, in case I'm tempted to open it some day. You were right when you said it was like giving Baldoni the victory." I thought for a moment "You know what I feel like doing? Going to the prison he's locked in and tell him in the face that he lost."

"Are you nuts, Billy? Why would you want to face that jerk again?" Scott yelled "He's the last person I would want to see ever."

"Scott's right. Billy, I understand you, but it's better to keep him apart from us once and for all. He's way too dangerous, and last thing I want you is to have any more contact with him. He's done too much harm to us."

"But just because of that, I want to prove him we're way stronger than he will ever be. He thinks he always wins, but we will show him how wrong he is."

"I understand your point and I will probably do the same if I were your age but believe me, the wisest thing we can do is keep him as far as we can from us. Billy, I just want you and Scott to be safe, and you won't be if you get in touch with him. He's already played enough mind games with you, and I won't give him the slightest chance to do it again. Look, there's something I need to talk about, with you two." He said when Scott went out with his bike. "It's important

"Can't it wait? We were going to the lake with the girls." Scott protested. 

"I would prefer if you stay, we have to talk about something." My father insisted.  Scott put the bikes by the wall and we walked to the car.

"We're sorry but we can't go, my father says he wants to talk about something. We'll meet you later at the lake okay?" 

"Probably it's about Baldoni." Pam said, with a concerned voice. "You want us to wait?" 

"No, we'll go to the lake as soon as we can. See you!" We kissed the girls goodbye and Shauna drove away.

 My father took a piece of paper from the folder he had been reading. "There's something I would like to talk about. I've been thinking for some time now  of moving to Florida, I've been offered a job there as an instructor at the Academy. I don't have to take a decision right now but I can't postpone it much more either."

"Going to Florida? But why?"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Scott protested ."I have all my life here, and Pam, and my friends! Why the hell do you want us to move?"

"I've failed as a detective, Scott  and I think I don't deserve wearing the badge any longer. And to be honest, I was thinking about this even before all this happened. Maybe I'm getting old but I need having my sisters around, and some sun won't hurt either." He said trying to ease things.

That caught me by surprise, it was the very first time my Father mentioned the idea of moving away from Chicago. And it was quite an unpleasant surprise "I don't understand, were you thinking of going but didn't tell us?"

"I was waiting for both of you to finish high school, I didn't want to interfere in that. But yes, it was something I planned to do. And right now it's the best moment to do it, staying here will only bring bad memories."

"That could be easier to arrange if we just move to another house, there's no need to go away. We've got all our lives here, and you want us to leave it behind just like that?" I wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of moving.

"I know it will be hard for you two but you'll go to college next year, Billy.  I just would like you to understand why I'm doing this."

"Sorry but no, I just can't understand it. Billy and I have been the only ones who have paid for all this, and now you want us to leave everything behind? It's not fair, you know! Fuck, I feel as if we were just puppets you and Ma used against each other."

"No, Scott, listen."

"No, I'm done with listening. I'm not going anywhere and that's final. Nothing of this is my fault or Billy's and however it's us who are suffering all the consequences. You can go if you want but I'm staying here." Scott was out of control, I had never seen him so angry about something.

"I'm trying to do what's best for you, that's all. I know it won't be easy but I can't leave you here either." 

"I can manage very well on my own. "

"Okay, let's make a deal then. I'm going to put the house for sale and when we do it I'll rent you a small apartment near your school. But there will be some rules you'll have to follow okay?"

"You can trust I will, whatever those rules are." Scott and my father shook hands signing their deal.